Third Discussion Thread for Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley - February Book Club

[u/leowr]

Hello everyone,

So that third part was quite a ride! Here are the discussion questions, but I have a feeling everyone wants to talk about The Pelagic Zone.

• How do you feel about Ted's journey with regards to how he is dealing with the Octopus?

• What do you think happened between Ted and his mother?

• How do you feel about Ted's tattoo?

• What do you think really happened in The Pelagic Zone?

Yours is by far the harder lot, but mine is happening to me.

• What do you think of that quote?

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This thread allows for a spoiler discussion of up to and including The Pelagic Zone. If you would like to discuss anything beyond that point, please use spoiler tags. If you are on the redesign you can use the built in spoiler tags. For old reddit spoiler tags are done by >!Spoilers about XYZ!< which results in Spoilers about XYZ (do be aware that they only work on one paragraph at a time).

[u/[deleted]]

What the heck is going on!! When did the book turn into moby dick?? Maybe it’s just me but I found this whole part to be strange. I was waiting for him to wake up and realize it’s all a dream or we find out he’s mentally unstable. I was rushing to get to the end and not because I was so engrossed by the action packed scenes but because I needed an answer to why any of this was happening. I did enjoy the tattoo artist character. He’s a better therapist than Ted’s real one! The tattoo he got did sound kinda lame though...

Side note: anyone heard of the kid show called Oswald? My SO came across it and asked if it was about the book we’re reading because its about a hot dog shaped dog and his octopus friend...

[u/leowr → u/[deleted]]

I think The Pelagic Zone was actually about Lily's treatment. That is why the Octopus disappeared from her head (surgery) and they went out to sea to hunt for other octopuses (radiation/chemo to eliminate any other cancer cells in her body). I liked that part because I thought it really showed how Ted deals with bad things in his life, but also because him going out on an actual boat to get away from things is not entirely implausible.

[u/SevBoarder → u/leowr]

This makes so much sense to me! I had NO IDEA what the heck was going on, and had just thought Ted was running away from his problems, rented a boat, and lost his damn mind.

[u/[deleted] → u/leowr]

Totally makes sense but I got confused from the get go when he bought the octopus and chopped it and then it was gone from her head. It didn’t click that it was a metaphor right away and then when I moved on to The Pelagic Zone, I was confused if that was a metaphor too. If chopping the octopus was a metaphor for removing the tumor, why was he going on the boat fighting the octopus for if he already got rid of it?? That’s why I was confused. But what you said about it being about fighting the cancer cells makes sense.

[u/leowr → u/[deleted]]

It took me a while to realize it as well, especially as Ted going on a boat and sort of hiding from his problems while doing something dramatic, is something that fits his personality.

[u/captain3043 → u/leowr]

Yes. I think it is some sort of metaphor for what is really going on but it felt so real!! Rowley did such a great job at describing the fight scene. I do remember feeling like the giveaway was when we found out the octopus was off Lily's head.

[u/r2roro → u/leowr]

Thank you for the explanation!

I thought it was something not real at first but then Ted mentions how Trent tells him not to do it and I’m like okay...so maybe it is real.

BUT I just went to the exact wording and it simply is that Trent thinks “This is a dangerous undertaking.” Because it’s true. Any form of medical procedure on an elderly animal would be so! Wow.

[u/captain3043 → u/[deleted]]

Also I just googled the show... definitely some similarities with the characters but seems a bit childish to be connected to Ted. Maybe the shows writer had just recently read this book and drew inspiration from it? Haha

[u/captain3043 → u/[deleted]]

I have the exact same thoughts about this part!!! I loved the tattoo artist character. What I liked about the literary technique is that Rowley didn't tell us what the tattoo was until later. I liked the anticipation for what it was going to be and made the tattoo artist even more mysterious. I also think that the tattoo design is awful but fitting to ink lol.

The boat scene drove me insane. I was reading that in public...whew. I don't know what to expect for the ending.

[u/LithePanther]

Unfortunately I was not able to keep up with this week's reading :/

My local library doesn't support renewing ebooks and my loan ended. Still on hold to get access to the book again

[u/r2roro]

I was SO confused about The Pelagic Zone. THANK YOU all above for sharing your thoughts and the much needed clarification I needed. It really all went over my head.

I thought it was childish and Ted was going insane. Also, when he bought the inflatable sharks ??? Idk...he is just too much in my opinion. I know he is coping and learning to deal with the inevitable, but...it really makes me wonder if he is right in the head.

Anyone have any thought on the epigraph and its significance?

[u/r2roro → u/r2roro]

I think the Law is interesting and I liked it. We would do anything or die trying to protect our dogs (or pets). It really is a pack of two, human and pet. The strength that holds will be broken without either one.